The focus on finances will likely go away very quickly, and we'll forget all about it. Maybe that's my own dumb hopefulness. I'm on the vlad silent takeover train.
Kenny Huang leading serious bid for LFC
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Oh fuck all that, we've still got Gerrard and Torres, plus Magic, Cole, Reina et al. I'm going to enjoy watching us play this season and try not to think about the cliff-edge we're standing on.
[quote author=Wilko link=topic=41235.msg1153121#msg1153121 date=1281633279]
Why would these rich Arabs hire someone as shifty looking as this Kirdy character to represent them?
[/quote]
Not just that- so small is their knowledge of LFC, that they hire someone who has gone out of his way to demonstrate he is best buddies with the current, despised owners. Is it just me, or does this smack of total ignorance on both his and their part?
I mean he goes out of his way to impress us with the lie that he was a Syrian international footballer and negates the great power of that news by cosying up with G&H.
Why would these rich Arabs hire someone as shifty looking as this Kirdy character to represent them?
[/quote]
Not just that- so small is their knowledge of LFC, that they hire someone who has gone out of his way to demonstrate he is best buddies with the current, despised owners. Is it just me, or does this smack of total ignorance on both his and their part?
I mean he goes out of his way to impress us with the lie that he was a Syrian international footballer and negates the great power of that news by cosying up with G&H.
Latest from Bamba;
Possibly my last bulletin on this ‘ere takeover - I certainly hope so. The Huang bid has been presented to Barcap. There’ll be a little to-ing and fro-ing as Barcap inevitably try to persuade them to increase their offer. Over the next 24 hours Huang & co will get to a point where they say “this is it - this is as high as we’re prepared to goâ€. Offer will go to LFC board - possibly even tomorrow. Therefore, logically, there’s not much more your Uncle Bamba can tell you. The next we’ll hear from now on in will come when an Official source announces that the bid has been accepted - or not. Here’s hoping.
Possibly my last bulletin on this ‘ere takeover - I certainly hope so. The Huang bid has been presented to Barcap. There’ll be a little to-ing and fro-ing as Barcap inevitably try to persuade them to increase their offer. Over the next 24 hours Huang & co will get to a point where they say “this is it - this is as high as we’re prepared to goâ€. Offer will go to LFC board - possibly even tomorrow. Therefore, logically, there’s not much more your Uncle Bamba can tell you. The next we’ll hear from now on in will come when an Official source announces that the bid has been accepted - or not. Here’s hoping.
[quote author=Hansern link=topic=41235.msg1153126#msg1153126 date=1281634833]
Latest from Bamba;
Possibly my last bulletin on this ‘ere takeover - I certainly hope so. The Huang bid has been presented to Barcap. There’ll be a little to-ing and fro-ing as Barcap inevitably try to persuade them to increase their offer. Over the next 24 hours Huang & co will get to a point where they say “this is it - this is as high as we’re prepared to goâ€. Offer will go to LFC board - possibly even tomorrow. Therefore, logically, there’s not much more your Uncle Bamba can tell you. The next we’ll hear from now on in will come when an Official source announces that the bid has been accepted - or not. Here’s hoping.
[/quote]
Christ, I hope Bamba is right.
Forbes Magazine, the influential business publication gives some more background on Huang today from China.
Huang’s Three-Pronged Plan For Liverpool
Posted by Lee Igel
CHANGCHUN, CHINA - NOVEMBER 24: Kenneth Huang...
Image by Getty Images via @daylife
There is plenty of excitement over the offer proposed by Kenny Huang to buy Liverpool FC, reportedly with the backing of Chinese sovereign wealth fund CIC. Should the Chinese gain control of the revered English Premier League club, it will replace an ownership group led by Tom Hicks and George Gillett, two Americans whose relationship with Liverpool supporters never seemed to gel. But if such an ownership change transpires, it could turn out to represent a significant transformation that extends beyond football—and even beyond the entire sports industry.
A little more than three years ago, when Hicks and Gillett made their bid to own the storied club and its home pitch, Anfield, the value was £218.9 million, with about £44.8 million in debt. After their bid was accepted, Hicks declared that winning championships was a top priority and that he would also see to it that a new stadium be built to replace Anfield. But it was, in fact, the plan to build the stadium that attracted Hicks to the bid in the first place. The stadium and other real estate and associated revenue-generating opportunities were what drove the deal. It is ironic, however, that the focus on stadium-driven revenue is what most likely led to Hicks and Gillett racking-up debts of about £350 million.
The stadium as key to revenue generation has been a basic assumption for some time in the sports business, and explains to some extent why Hicks and Gillett have presently valued Liverpool at £600 million (they recently had it as high as £800 million). But are stadia, while important components of any sale, and a desire to negotiate a high sale price enough to explain the gap between Hicks and Gillett’s valuation and Huang’s offer to pay up to a reported £320 million for control of the club?
The answer is no—and it has little to do with the economic dimension that shares in Liverpool may not be worth more than the debt. What is really going on here is a lesson about how differently Hicks and Gillett organize and manage the business compared to how the Chinese are likely to do it.
The linchpin of this deal is Jianhua “Kenny†Huang. At 46 years of age, Huang, who leads the Hong Kong-based investment company QSL Sports, is an intriguing figure. He was the first graduate of a university in the People’s Republic of China to work at the New York Stock Exchange, beginning in public relations and later moving into investments. He also studied in New York at Columbia University and then completed a masters degree at St. John’s University, speaks multiple languages, and has for years been brokering deals between Chinese and American outfits, especially in sports.
Huang had been generally unknown in the United States until he took a minority ownership stake in the National Basketball Association’s Cleveland Cavaliers last year, which followed prior deals to market the National Basketball Association’s Houston Rockets and Major League Baseball’s New York Yankees in China. Among a long list of other accomplishments over the past few years are his investment in China’s National Basketball League, which helped pave the way for private enterprise to enter what had been a government-controlled operation, and his being voted China’s philanthropist of the year in 2009. But what may be most compelling is Huang’s feeling that the three keys to the sports business are media, sponsors and capital markets. Specifically, he operates from a belief that “You may know sports, but you may not know capital markets. But if you know capital markets, you may not know the media well. I think I have got all three successful ingredients.â€
Should it turn out that Huang has the opportunity to put his model into action with Liverpool, the club will be marketed in a way not seen since George Steinbrenner took the Yankees brand abroad. But Liverpool will have a bigger impact because it will take on a global presence, rather than merely a global position. And this will allow Liverpool to easily attract the world’s top footballers, as well as do wonders for merchandising at a level that surpasses the recent news that the surnames of Liverpool’s Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard adorn the top two best-selling English Premier League replica shirts. That is, what opportunities and implications will arise out of Liverpool’s capacity to attract sponsors in the form of large multinational companies champing at the bit to further build their own brands in China?
Latest from Bamba;
Possibly my last bulletin on this ‘ere takeover - I certainly hope so. The Huang bid has been presented to Barcap. There’ll be a little to-ing and fro-ing as Barcap inevitably try to persuade them to increase their offer. Over the next 24 hours Huang & co will get to a point where they say “this is it - this is as high as we’re prepared to goâ€. Offer will go to LFC board - possibly even tomorrow. Therefore, logically, there’s not much more your Uncle Bamba can tell you. The next we’ll hear from now on in will come when an Official source announces that the bid has been accepted - or not. Here’s hoping.
[/quote]
Christ, I hope Bamba is right.
Forbes Magazine, the influential business publication gives some more background on Huang today from China.
Huang’s Three-Pronged Plan For Liverpool
Posted by Lee Igel
CHANGCHUN, CHINA - NOVEMBER 24: Kenneth Huang...
Image by Getty Images via @daylife
There is plenty of excitement over the offer proposed by Kenny Huang to buy Liverpool FC, reportedly with the backing of Chinese sovereign wealth fund CIC. Should the Chinese gain control of the revered English Premier League club, it will replace an ownership group led by Tom Hicks and George Gillett, two Americans whose relationship with Liverpool supporters never seemed to gel. But if such an ownership change transpires, it could turn out to represent a significant transformation that extends beyond football—and even beyond the entire sports industry.
A little more than three years ago, when Hicks and Gillett made their bid to own the storied club and its home pitch, Anfield, the value was £218.9 million, with about £44.8 million in debt. After their bid was accepted, Hicks declared that winning championships was a top priority and that he would also see to it that a new stadium be built to replace Anfield. But it was, in fact, the plan to build the stadium that attracted Hicks to the bid in the first place. The stadium and other real estate and associated revenue-generating opportunities were what drove the deal. It is ironic, however, that the focus on stadium-driven revenue is what most likely led to Hicks and Gillett racking-up debts of about £350 million.
The stadium as key to revenue generation has been a basic assumption for some time in the sports business, and explains to some extent why Hicks and Gillett have presently valued Liverpool at £600 million (they recently had it as high as £800 million). But are stadia, while important components of any sale, and a desire to negotiate a high sale price enough to explain the gap between Hicks and Gillett’s valuation and Huang’s offer to pay up to a reported £320 million for control of the club?
The answer is no—and it has little to do with the economic dimension that shares in Liverpool may not be worth more than the debt. What is really going on here is a lesson about how differently Hicks and Gillett organize and manage the business compared to how the Chinese are likely to do it.
The linchpin of this deal is Jianhua “Kenny†Huang. At 46 years of age, Huang, who leads the Hong Kong-based investment company QSL Sports, is an intriguing figure. He was the first graduate of a university in the People’s Republic of China to work at the New York Stock Exchange, beginning in public relations and later moving into investments. He also studied in New York at Columbia University and then completed a masters degree at St. John’s University, speaks multiple languages, and has for years been brokering deals between Chinese and American outfits, especially in sports.
Huang had been generally unknown in the United States until he took a minority ownership stake in the National Basketball Association’s Cleveland Cavaliers last year, which followed prior deals to market the National Basketball Association’s Houston Rockets and Major League Baseball’s New York Yankees in China. Among a long list of other accomplishments over the past few years are his investment in China’s National Basketball League, which helped pave the way for private enterprise to enter what had been a government-controlled operation, and his being voted China’s philanthropist of the year in 2009. But what may be most compelling is Huang’s feeling that the three keys to the sports business are media, sponsors and capital markets. Specifically, he operates from a belief that “You may know sports, but you may not know capital markets. But if you know capital markets, you may not know the media well. I think I have got all three successful ingredients.â€
Should it turn out that Huang has the opportunity to put his model into action with Liverpool, the club will be marketed in a way not seen since George Steinbrenner took the Yankees brand abroad. But Liverpool will have a bigger impact because it will take on a global presence, rather than merely a global position. And this will allow Liverpool to easily attract the world’s top footballers, as well as do wonders for merchandising at a level that surpasses the recent news that the surnames of Liverpool’s Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard adorn the top two best-selling English Premier League replica shirts. That is, what opportunities and implications will arise out of Liverpool’s capacity to attract sponsors in the form of large multinational companies champing at the bit to further build their own brands in China?
This is what a div I am.
Reading that has got me all hopeful and excited
I say 'read'. I skimmed it. But anyway.
Reading that has got me all hopeful and excited
I say 'read'. I skimmed it. But anyway.
[quote author=Rosco link=topic=41235.msg1153134#msg1153134 date=1281635764]
[quote author=Sunny link=topic=41235.msg1153131#msg1153131 date=1281635367]
I thought he wasn't backed by CIC ? It's all very confusing
[/quote]
About half of that article is untrue.
More PR fluff
[/quote]
Yeah.
[quote author=Sunny link=topic=41235.msg1153131#msg1153131 date=1281635367]
I thought he wasn't backed by CIC ? It's all very confusing
[/quote]
About half of that article is untrue.
More PR fluff
[/quote]
Yeah.
Depressed again, now
Here is an interview from Huang given by him to his own Chinese basketball magazine, today I think.
'Your Uncle Bamba' what a fucking a tosser.
I like the tone of that interview with Huang too. The "Grauniad" carried a short report today which I found a bit worrying though. According to that report Statler and Waldorf favour the bid fronted by Kirdi because it includes provision for a payment, a large one apparently, to them whereas the bid fronted by Huang doesn't. The report went on to say that, if the club is sold to Huang instead, court action could well follow. That might not necessarily affect the club on a day-to-day basis, but it's a risk I'd want to avoid if at all possible.
[quote author=Judge Jules link=topic=41235.msg1153150#msg1153150 date=1281638401]
I like the tone of that interview with Huang too. The "Grauniad" carried a short report today which I found a bit worrying though. According to that report Statler and Waldorf favour the bid fronted by Kirdi because it includes provision for a payment, a large one apparently, to them whereas the bid fronted by Huang doesn't. The report went on to say that, if the club is sold to Huang instead, court action could well follow. That might not necessarily affect the club on a day-to-day basis, but it's a risk I'd want to avoid if at all possible.
[/quote]
I'd prefer a court case and having a good owner than being owned by another shyster. But they're quite possibly all shysters so....
I like the tone of that interview with Huang too. The "Grauniad" carried a short report today which I found a bit worrying though. According to that report Statler and Waldorf favour the bid fronted by Kirdi because it includes provision for a payment, a large one apparently, to them whereas the bid fronted by Huang doesn't. The report went on to say that, if the club is sold to Huang instead, court action could well follow. That might not necessarily affect the club on a day-to-day basis, but it's a risk I'd want to avoid if at all possible.
[/quote]
I'd prefer a court case and having a good owner than being owned by another shyster. But they're quite possibly all shysters so....
that was a really good interview. very humble. huang seems to be the opposite of pizza boy
humble interview = sound bloke?
or is it more something along the lines of those celebrities appearing in things like 'extras' to send themselves up while inadvertantly advertising their refreshing sense of humour and humility and thus scoring an unexpected PR victory?
all i really know is that following this tawdry business is like having the most tedious addiction ever. make it end, please.
or is it more something along the lines of those celebrities appearing in things like 'extras' to send themselves up while inadvertantly advertising their refreshing sense of humour and humility and thus scoring an unexpected PR victory?
all i really know is that following this tawdry business is like having the most tedious addiction ever. make it end, please.
No firm bids to buy Liverpool are expected to be made tomorrow, the self-imposed deadline by which the club's chairman, Martin Broughton, said he hoped to receive solid offers. Yahya Kirdi, the Syrian businessman based in Canada, continues to express a positive interest but if, as has been claimed, his financial backers are members of the ruling family of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates, any firm bid from him is certain to be delayed.
Yesterday the family announced the death at 95 of Sheikha Maryam al-Shamsi, the mother of Sharjah's ruler, Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed al-Qassimi. All members of the family will now observe seven days mourning during which no business will be conducted.
The Hong Kong-based businessman Kenneth Huang said today that his consortium "have confirmed with Liverpool's board that we are interested in bidding" but he has not translated that into a detailed proposal with the proof that the money is there, which Broughton has asked for.
Sources close to the process confirmed today that no firm offers, with the required proof of funds, have been received, and it is not thought likely that any will be delivered tomorrow. That means Liverpool's owners, Tom Hicks and George Gillett, will be hit with another £2.5m, the penalty fee they are being charged by the Royal Bank of Scotland for every week the club is not sold.
Imposed on Hicks's and Gillett's Liverpool holding company, Kop, as part of the refinancing last April of £237m in loans from RBS, the £2.5m weekly penalties will, according to sources close to the arrangement, amount to an additional £60m if the club is not sold by 6 October, when the loan expires. That would mean RBS will have racked up more than £200m in interest and fees since it loaned Hicks and Gillett £185m to buy Liverpool in February 2007.
RBS would not confirm the £2.5m or £60m figures, but did acknowledge penalty fees are part of the loan arrangement. The accumulating fees are charged to Hicks's and Gillett's holding company, and will become due for repayment by the owners if and when the club is finally sold.
If this is true its been a great business deal for RBS the cunts have and will make a fortune out of the club regardless if and when the takeover goes ahead. The ways its looking to me is Broughton will quit before October and RBS will sell the club or the debt themselves.
Yesterday the family announced the death at 95 of Sheikha Maryam al-Shamsi, the mother of Sharjah's ruler, Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed al-Qassimi. All members of the family will now observe seven days mourning during which no business will be conducted.
The Hong Kong-based businessman Kenneth Huang said today that his consortium "have confirmed with Liverpool's board that we are interested in bidding" but he has not translated that into a detailed proposal with the proof that the money is there, which Broughton has asked for.
Sources close to the process confirmed today that no firm offers, with the required proof of funds, have been received, and it is not thought likely that any will be delivered tomorrow. That means Liverpool's owners, Tom Hicks and George Gillett, will be hit with another £2.5m, the penalty fee they are being charged by the Royal Bank of Scotland for every week the club is not sold.
Imposed on Hicks's and Gillett's Liverpool holding company, Kop, as part of the refinancing last April of £237m in loans from RBS, the £2.5m weekly penalties will, according to sources close to the arrangement, amount to an additional £60m if the club is not sold by 6 October, when the loan expires. That would mean RBS will have racked up more than £200m in interest and fees since it loaned Hicks and Gillett £185m to buy Liverpool in February 2007.
RBS would not confirm the £2.5m or £60m figures, but did acknowledge penalty fees are part of the loan arrangement. The accumulating fees are charged to Hicks's and Gillett's holding company, and will become due for repayment by the owners if and when the club is finally sold.
If this is true its been a great business deal for RBS the cunts have and will make a fortune out of the club regardless if and when the takeover goes ahead. The ways its looking to me is Broughton will quit before October and RBS will sell the club or the debt themselves.
I think I want Bamba to be right.
I am not sure about Huang, but my gut reaction says it could be OK. I don't like the look of Kirdi one bit.
The idea of opening up millions of potential fans at a sweep sounds great and is sure to work, but I wonder how many peeps in China will be splashing out on official shirts etc.
I am still waiting for the Arabs to ride to the rescue
regards
I am not sure about Huang, but my gut reaction says it could be OK. I don't like the look of Kirdi one bit.
The idea of opening up millions of potential fans at a sweep sounds great and is sure to work, but I wonder how many peeps in China will be splashing out on official shirts etc.
I am still waiting for the Arabs to ride to the rescue
regards
From the "digger" section on the Guardian Online :-
"Tom Hicks has kept his shareholding in Liverpool separate from his other sports assets in apparent fear of a collapse of the highly leveraged Premier League club. Digger has obtained a corporate flowchart detailing all of the sporting interests Hicks has held through his holding company, HSG Hicks Sports Group.
The chart was filed with a US court in bankruptcy proceedings against Texas Rangers, the Major League Baseball franchise that has now been sold by Hicks, in which the courts had invited Rangers' creditors to pursue other HSG assets.
That order could put at risk his stake in the Dallas Stars ice hockey team, as well as stakes in those organisations' associated real estate operations, which sat alongside the Texas Rangers in HSG. Yet, curiously, Liverpool's ultimate parent company, Kop Investment LLC, is not listed among them.
It is not known precisely how his Kop shareholding is structured since that company has never met its statutory requirement to file an annual return. But Liverpool's ring-fencing out of HSG cannot have been for tax or legal reasons: Kop is registered in Delaware, the tax-friendly location where other Hicks investments are held. A spokesman for Hicks did not return calls yesterday after Digger put it to him that the purpose of the separation was to prevent Liverpool's debts causing problems for other HSG assets. Despite their separation the dominoes have begun to fall."
"Tom Hicks has kept his shareholding in Liverpool separate from his other sports assets in apparent fear of a collapse of the highly leveraged Premier League club. Digger has obtained a corporate flowchart detailing all of the sporting interests Hicks has held through his holding company, HSG Hicks Sports Group.
The chart was filed with a US court in bankruptcy proceedings against Texas Rangers, the Major League Baseball franchise that has now been sold by Hicks, in which the courts had invited Rangers' creditors to pursue other HSG assets.
That order could put at risk his stake in the Dallas Stars ice hockey team, as well as stakes in those organisations' associated real estate operations, which sat alongside the Texas Rangers in HSG. Yet, curiously, Liverpool's ultimate parent company, Kop Investment LLC, is not listed among them.
It is not known precisely how his Kop shareholding is structured since that company has never met its statutory requirement to file an annual return. But Liverpool's ring-fencing out of HSG cannot have been for tax or legal reasons: Kop is registered in Delaware, the tax-friendly location where other Hicks investments are held. A spokesman for Hicks did not return calls yesterday after Digger put it to him that the purpose of the separation was to prevent Liverpool's debts causing problems for other HSG assets. Despite their separation the dominoes have begun to fall."
[quote author=Hansern link=topic=41235.msg1153126#msg1153126 date=1281634833]
Latest from Bamba;
Possibly my lastbulletin bullshiton this ‘ere takeover - I certainly hope so. The Huang bid has been presented to Barcap. There’ll be a little to-ing and fro-ing as Barcap inevitably try to persuade them to increase their offer. Over the next 24 hours Huang & co will get to a point where they say “this is it - this is as high as we’re prepared to goâ€. Offer will go to LFC board - possibly even tomorrow. Therefore, logically, there’s not much more your Uncle Bamba can tell you. The next we’ll hear from now on in will come when an Official source announces that the bid has been accepted - or not. Here’s hoping.
[/quote]
Latest from Bamba;
Possibly my last
[/quote]
[quote author=Vlads Quiff link=topic=41235.msg1153249#msg1153249 date=1281659344]
I think I want Bamba to be right.
I am not sure about Huang, but my gut reaction says it could be OK. I don't like the look of Kirdi one bit.
The idea of opening up millions of potential fans at a sweep sounds great and is sure to work, but I wonder how many peeps in China will be splashing out on official shirts etc.
I am still waiting for the Arabs to ride to the rescue
regards
[/quote]
As Froggy said before, if the Chinese govt have a stake (even if it is only the 20%), then counterfeit products will be rarer than you'd imagine.
I think I want Bamba to be right.
I am not sure about Huang, but my gut reaction says it could be OK. I don't like the look of Kirdi one bit.
The idea of opening up millions of potential fans at a sweep sounds great and is sure to work, but I wonder how many peeps in China will be splashing out on official shirts etc.
I am still waiting for the Arabs to ride to the rescue
regards
[/quote]
As Froggy said before, if the Chinese govt have a stake (even if it is only the 20%), then counterfeit products will be rarer than you'd imagine.
Report in today's Guardian says no bids are expected before today's deadline. None at all.
[quote author=TheBunnyman link=topic=41235.msg1153302#msg1153302 date=1281682804]
Report in today's Guardian says no bids are expected before today's deadline. None at all.
[/quote]
I hope you're not discounting Bamba's testimony?
Report in today's Guardian says no bids are expected before today's deadline. None at all.
[/quote]
I hope you're not discounting Bamba's testimony?
- Status
